The Usean coup d'état(ユージア・クーデターYūjia kūdetā),[4][5][note 1] also known as the Usean Continental War[2] or Usean Continental Conflict,[3] was a large-scale coup d'état that took place on the continent of Usea in 1997[4] and 1998.[2] The coup was organized by extremists who opposed the southern countries' decision to sign a military pact with the Osean Federation.

Contents

Background

After a long history of rising tensions on the Usean continent, the nations of Usea banded together to forge an alliance to face the rising threat of the growth of the Osean Federation and the Union of Yuktobanian Republics. This alliance was known as the Usean Allied Forces.

However, the southern countries of Usea decided to contact the Osean Federation and form an alliance with the superpower rather than the Allied Forces. The northern and western countries strongly protested the decision of the south. Even with the protests, Osea extended a military pact to the leaders of the southern nations.

Coup d'état

On May 30, 1997,[4] the day of the pact's signing, fearing the presence of the Osean military and the loss of mining rights, conservative extremists all across the continent (including personnel within the Usean Allied Forces) organized and launched a large coup d'état that broke out across the entire continent simultaneously. They did not attack areas in just the southern nations, but in the northern and western nations as well, likely to disband any and all alliances on the continent and create a new government. The Allied Forces, caught by surprise and burdened with numerous attacks and defections at one time, were forced to retreat to the west.

It began to look like the Rebel Forces would succeed in taking over the continent and instilling a new, permanent continental state government. They hoped to quell the rebellion quickly, but they were forced to retreat in all areas. As a last resort, the Allied Forces initiated Operation Fighter's Honor, their counterattack operation to shut down the rebellion and take back the continent. As part of their operation, they enlisted the help of the mercenary Scarface Squadron, which would spearhead the assault.

On March 20, 1998, a large bomber force was deployed by the Rebel Forces to destroy one of the last remaining Allied bases at Twinkle Islands. Scarface One, TAC name Phoenix, was launched quickly, and he destroyed the bomber force and kept the base safe. Over a week later, Phoenix was sent to shoot down a squadron of reconnaissance units, which were supported by the Lancer Squadron. Phoenix shot down the entire unit and squadron. To the Allied Forces, this proved his worth, and from here on out he was used as their trump card in their counterattack.

Counterattack

April 1998 marked the Allied Forces' counterattack operations. On the 5th of April, they performed Operation Anchorhead Freedom to defeat the Rebel Forces in Axel Bay and take control of the city of Anchorhead. Phoenix was sent to perform an aerial assault on the Rebel Forces' ships, including their Kinnear-class aircraft carrier. After Phoenix destroyed the naval forces, Allied ground troops entered the city, met little resistance, and took control.

On April 14, the Allied Forces launched two simultaneous attacks. The first was to disable the facilities at one of the Rebel Forces' frontline bases, The Keep. The second, five hours later, was to destroy Opera House, a large oil facility in the southern waters of Usea. It is unclear which operation Phoenix took part in, but both operations were successful in pushing the Rebel Forces back, which the Allied Forces hadn't managed to do since the rebellion first began.

On April 29, a large force of rebel pilots, including the Beast Squadron, began flying a course to Twinkle Islands to destroy the base, after their failure to do so with the bomber force a month ago. They made it as far as the Payton Channel before the Scarface Squadron intercepted them and shot down all of the forces.

The Rebels' Retreat

At this point, the Rebel Forces realized that if things kept going as well for the Allied Forces as they have been, then they would lose the rebellion soon. They began to pull back their forces and concentrate on a more powerful effort. To slow down or halt the Allied Forces' advance, they employed the use of electronic warfare aircraft. Scarface Squadron was asked to shoot down the EW aircraft, but after completing the mission, they were engaged by an F-14D Super Tomcat that was equipped with the Zone of Endless AI project. This is the first time the Z.O.E. project is known to have been utilized in battle; however, for whatever reason, it was not operating at full capacity during this engagement. It refused to fire any missiles at Phoenix. Strangely enough, the F-14D retreated from the combat zone before it could be shot down. It was never seen after this engagement, leading to the belief that it may have malfunctioned and crashed on the return trip.

After this engagement, the Rebel Forces planned two simultaneous attacks to cripple the Allied Forces. They launched two different stealth bomber squadrons: one was headed to the Allied Forces' base at Twinkle Islands, and the other to Anchorhead two hours later. The bombers headed to Twinkle Islands were particular, in that they kept at high altitudes with the belief that it would keep them safe from harm. It is not known which bombers Phoenix shot down, but neither bombing runs were successful.

In June, the Rebel Forces attempted to airlift cargo from the east to commandos on the western front. With Scarface Squadron's interference, the airlift was a failure, and the rebels began to lose ground to the Allied Forces. They kidnapped a government VIP and held him hostage, but a Special Forces team from the Allied Forces retrieved him and escaped on a transporter. Scarface Squadron assisted in the escape.

The rescued VIP informed the Allied Forces that he had learned of a large-scale attack being planned on the Allied Forces. While the target was unknown, the VIP was aware that the Usean 2nd Fleet was stationed at the southern vacation spot Skully Islands. The fleet, consisting of another Kinnear-class aircraft carrier and the Cocoon Squadron, was attacked by surprise by the Scarface Squadron. The entire fleet and the squadron was destroyed. However, another Z.O.E. aircraft engaged in battle with Phoenix, this one being an F/A-18E Super Hornet. This Z.O.E. was notably more maneuverable than the F-14D, and it could fire missiles. However, it also retreated the combat zone before it could be shot down, and was also never seen after this engagement.

Since the rebellion began, Allied Forces had been searching for the Dragonet-class submarineFensalir, which was equipped with at least one Submarine-launched ballistic missile. It was discovered to be sinking various Allied ships in the southern waters surrounding Seals Bridge Ravine, where it would dock. Phoenix flew into the ravine at low altitude to avoid fire from AA weaponry and destroyed the submarine. A couple of days later, Allied pilots on a training mission in waters east of Scofield Plateau were engaged by rebel aircraft. Scarface Squadron assisted in their escape, but at least one of them was shot down by yet another Z.O.E. aircraft, this one being a YF-23A Black Widow II. Unlike the others, Phoenix shot down and destroyed this aircraft. The remaining rookies were rescued safely.

Path to Saint Ark

The Allied Forces decided to split their air and ground forces into two teams to create a path to the Rebels' temporary capital at Saint Ark. They took on separate targets along their way to the capital. These were known as Operation Alphaville and Operation Bellissima. It is not known which team Scarface Squadron assisted.

Operation Alphaville

The first aerial engagement of Operation Alphaville was the forced entry of the Allied Forces' 4th Fleet through the Payton Channel. The channel was a direct path to a rebel base that the 4th Fleet was intent on destroying. With air support, they managed to push through the defenses in the channel and destroy the rebel base.

The second aerial engagement of Alphaville was to destroy the rebels' geothermal power plant, Turntable, which had been powering the defenses around Saint Ark. Petral Coost, a landing ship, was used to land onto the beach in front of Turntable and open the facility while the core of the power plant was destroyed from inside.

The third and final aerial engagement of Alphaville was to destroy the Anti-asteroid laser being loaded onto a space shuttle at the Comona Islands. All of the lasers, along with the shuttle, were destroyed. However, Beast Squadron, having survived the encounter with Scarface Squadron in the Payton Channel months ago, resurfaced. They were eventually shot down.

Operation Bellissima

The first aerial engagement of Operation Bellissima was the rescue of an E-767, callsign Cassiopea, that had been shot and was forced to make an emergency landing in the Sandbury Desert. A rescue unit was dispatched with air support to get the crew of the E-767 safely home.

The second engagement of Bellissima was to prevent a ballistic missile attack performed by rebels in Faith Park. The missiles were targeting certain key Usean cities. As previously mentioned, it is unclear if Scarface Squadron took part in this engagement. If they did, however, then they had likely destroyed the outer exhaust ducts of the silos, preventing the launch. Regardless, the Allied Forces' intelligence department managed to hack into the missile network and prevent the launch for good.

The third and final aerial engagement of Bellissima was to destroy the rebels' last line of defense in Snider's Top. Quite possibly the largest force of rebels in one place was stationed in these icy waters, which were home to a large fleet, three XB-10s, and the Albireo Squadron. The entirety of the defense line was destroyed, and the path to Saint Ark was clear.

The Rebellion's End

Operations Alphaville and Bellissima were successful in paving a southern and northern approach route, respectively, for the ground troops of the Allied Forces to march on Saint Ark. The members of both operations, spearheaded by Scarface Squadron, prepared for an all-out attack on Saint Ark.

Scarface Squadron was assigned to be the advance force, to disable the anti-air defenses in the city as well as destroy key facilities to weaken the rebel forces enough for the ground troops to infiltrate and take the city back. As Scarface Squadron began to take down each of the rebels' defensive lines, yet another Zone of Endless aircraft entered the combat airspace, this one being a F-15S/MTD. The aircraft had more power than its previous incarnations; this Z.O.E. came with a jamming technology that created bogus targets on the Head-up display. However, this Z.O.E. was eventually shot down by Phoenix.

With the Z.O.E. aircraft out of the way, Scarface Squadron then destroyed the rebels' third and final line of defense, leaving only the AA weapons surrounding the enemy HQ. As Scarface Squadron engaged and destroyed the defenses, along with the HQ, Allied fleets began approaching the city from the south. Saint Ark had fallen back into Allied hands.

A couple of hours later, the second Dragonet-class submarine, Folkvangr, had broken the surface in the waters east of Saint Ark, preparing a Submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) for launch to destroy the city. Phoenix engaged and destroyed the submarine, but not before it managed to launch a highly-maneuverable SLBM. Thanks to Phoenix's quick speed, the missile was destroyed before the warhead could be detonated; the city and everyone in it was out of harm's way.

About a week and a half after the liberation of Saint Ark, Allied Forces learned that the remaining rebel forces were holed up in Fortress Intolerance, a large fortress situated in North Point that had been saved from demolition due to the threat of the Ulysses 1994XF04 asteroid. The rebels were preparing to launch a large ICBM towards the Union of Yuktobanian Republics, likely in the hopes that an international war would erupt so the rebels could slip away during the chaos. Scarface Squadron was asked to dispatch Fortress Intolerance.

The fortress was guarded by a powerful AA system, along with the last of the Z.O.E. aircraft, this one being the most advanced of the Z.O.E.'s, fully equipped with jamming capabilities as well as being able to fire weapons from a 180-degree angle. However, Phoenix shot down this aircraft, likely ending the Zone of Endless legacy. Scarface Squadron then engaged the bandits and AA defenses protecting Fortress Intolerance, as well as the fortress itself to damage it. After a hatch was opened to air out smoke from a fire, Phoenix entered the hatch and destroyed the ICBM from within, flying out of the fortress just in time as it was destroyed.

Legacy

With the destruction of Fortress Intolerance, it is likely that the remaining Rebel Forces were either killed, arrested, or could not be found. Osea likely gave up on the military pact with the southern Usean nations; if so, it was probably to wait until tensions on the continent eased once more.

Trivia

The generally easterly direction of the Allied Forces' counterattack, starting at Twinkle Islands and ending at North Point, is notably opposite of the ISAF's counterattack during the Continental War, which generally went westerly, starting at North Point and ending at Twinkle Islands.

Footnotes

↑Since the name of this war is conjectural, the Japanese translation is a portmanteau of Usea (ユージア) and coup d'état (クーデター).